Kennedy and the Cold War

1. Kennedy and the Cold War A. Intro 1. John F. Kennedy was the first president born in the in the 20th century and brought art, sophistication, and wit to the White House. 2. 1946: After returning from the Second World War (naval hero) he ran for a seat in the House of Reps. to represent Boston. Easily won and served three terms in the House. 3. Elected to the Senate in 1952. B. John Fitzgerald Kennedy 1. Kennedy was a Democrat and inherited the New Deal commitment to America’s social welfare system. 2. Avoided controversial issues such as civil rights. 3. Won a Pulitzer Prize for his Profiles in Courage in 1956. 4. Endorsed Cold War policy of containment and was reelected into the Senate in 1958. 5. Portrayed as happy, healthy family man but in reality was a womanizer and diagnosed with Addison’s disease.

2. Election of 1960 & Nation Building C. Election of 1960 1. Kennedy won the 1960 election over Richard Nixon by 118,000 votes out of 69 million cast. 2. Kennedy received most votes from the Northeast and Midwest and mixed in the South; Nixon became vice president. 3. Kennedy surrounded himself with young, intelligent people as his cabinet members; known as the “best and brightest” 4. All favored foreign policy and the waging of the Cold War. D. Nation Building in the Third World 1. Kennedy showed himself to be cautious and pragmatic in foreign policy and proved willing to initiate dialogue with the Soviets using his brother Robert as a secret bank channel to Moscow occasionally. 2. Kennedy oversaw the creation of the multibillion-dollar Alliance for Progress in 1961 to spur economic development in Latin America. 3. 1961: created the Peace Corps as well. 4. Peace Corps and the Alliance served as both Cold war tools to end communism and anti-Americanism and genuine humanitarian efforts. 5. The Alliance for Progress was only partly successful; infant mortality rates improved but Latin American economies registered non impressive growth rates and class divisions continued to grow.

3. Tensions with the Soviets E. Soviet-American Tensions 1. June 1961; summit meeting with Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev was held in Vienna and both leaders disagreed over preconditions for peace and stability in the world. 2. Kennedy feared other nations getting their hands on the nuclear weapons and favored a ban on nuclear testing in the atmosphere or underground. 3. Both superpowers continued testing and accelerated their arms productions. 4. In 1961 the US military budget shot up 15% and by mid-1964 the US nuclear weapons increased by 150%. 5. Mid-1961: Krushchev demanded an end to western occupation of West Berlin and reunification of East and West Germany. Kennedy replied that we would stand by its commitments to West Berlin and West Germany. 6. August: Soviets constructed the Berlin wall that divided the city to end the migration of East Germans into the more prosperous and politically free West Germany. 7. Wall spurred protests throughout the non communist world but Kennedy believed that the wall was better than a war.

4. Bay of Pigs Invasion F. Bay of Pigs Invasion 1. Kennedy rankled at the Soviets’ assistance to Cuban Government of Fidel Castro. 2. The Eisenhower administration gave the Kennedy administration a partially developed CIA plan to overthrow Fidel Castro: CIA-trained Cuban exiles would land and secure a beachhead and then the Cuban people would rise up and defeat Castro and his government and then welcome a new government brought in from the United states. 3. Kennedy approved the plan and on April 17,1961 1,200 exiles landed at the swampy Bay of Pigs in Cuba but no discontented Cubans were there to greet them, only troops loyal to Castro. 4. The invaders were surrounded and captured. 5. Kennedy tried to keep the US participation in the operation hidden but it became public and Anti-American sentiment shot up throughout Latin America. 6. Kennedy’s embarrassment led to his vow to bring Castro down and the CIA launched a plan called Operation Mongoose to disrupt the island’s trade and support raids on Cuba from Miami and kill Castro. 7. The US undertook military maneuvers in the Caribbean and planned to give Castro cigars laced with poison and explosives. 8. The Joint Chiefs of Staff sketched plans to spark a rebellion in Cuba that would be followed by an invasion of US troops.

5. Cuban Missile Crisis A. Cuban Missile Crisis 1. castro and Khrushchev believed an invasion was coming a. soviet leader deployed secret nuclear missiles to cuba in 1962 b. hoped presence of weapons would deter any attack c. soviet leader also wanted kennedy to resolve german problem once and for all d. also wanted to get the west out of germany 2. mid october 1962, U-2 plane photographed the missiles on cuban missile sites a. president formed an ExComm, who decided what to do b. McNamara proposed a naval quarantine, president followed idea 3. kennedy addressed the nation on October 22nd, demanded soviets retreat a. ships began swarming the caribbean, nuclear airplanes took the skies b. Khrushchev said the missiles would be withdrawn if US promised to never attack cuba, and to withdraw jupiter missiles from turkey c. on October 28th, US agreed, proceeding went accordingly 4. steps were small but lead to a mutual trust, and acceptance of a divided continent

6. The March for Civil Rights A. Students and the Movement • Woolworth’s lunch counter sit in by four freshmen from NC A&T marked a turning point for the African American struggle for civil rights • 1960, 6 years after the Brown decision had declared “separate but equal” unconstitutional, only 10% of southern public schools had begun desegregation • only ¼ of african americans in the south could vote, water fountains still labeled • one year after the lunch counter sit in, more than 70k americans, mostly college students, had participated in a sit in • protested Jim Crow segregation at lunch counters in south, protested at northern branches of chains that practiced segregation in the south • created the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in spring of 1960, committed to nonviolence, would risk their lives for social justice B. Freedom Rides and Voter Registration • May 4th, 1961 13 members of congress CORE (congress of racial equality) purchase bus tickets and went south to demonstrate despite Supreme Court Rulings, Jim Crow still ruled the south, called Freedom Riders • suffered from attacks, beatings, firebombing, never helped by local authorities • the violence made headlines around the world, kennedy gave protection with federal marshals • 1961, SNCC volunteers began to walk the roads of the south, encouraging African Americans to vote, most were students, the African Americans often poor, lived in poverty

7. The Federal Government and Protest 1. Kennedy and Civil Rights a. kennedy realized civil rights was important, but was not committed to movement b. also understood that he needed to keep support of conservative southern democrats in congress c. delayed executive order forbidding segregation in fed. supported housing until 1962 d. allowed FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to harass Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders e. violence pushed Kennedy to send 500 U.S. marshals to protect James meredith, the first African American to attend the university of MI f. the marshals were brutally attacked by whites, 160 marshals wounded, two men killed 2. Birmingham and the Children’s Crusade a. 1961 Freedom Riders caught attention of world with Project C b. started nonviolent protest in birmingham, the most violent and racist city in america c. they knew it would draw violence, but decided it was needed d. placed children on the front lines to up the stakes e. Eugene “Bull” Connor, a police commissioner, ordered water guns (powerful enough to strip bark on trees 100ft away) on the children f. kennedy demanded a negotiation, after violence was on TV 3. Freedom Summer a. summer of 1964, thousands of white students joined the voter mobilization project in MI, forming freedom schools to teach literacy b. also formed the freedom democratic party, normal democratic party was white only c. not everything went smoothly, many were beaten, killed for their actions, Klan activities started again

8. Kennedy's Assassination, and Johnson's Great Society 1. Kennedy Assassination a. Nov. 22nd 1963 Kennedy was shot in the head while riding in an open limousine in Dallas b. same day police capture Lee Harvey Oswald, former US marine, applied for soviet citizenship c. oswald shot dead two days later by Jack Ruby d. started conspiracies, but most important, the peoples man was dead 2. Johnson and the Great Society a. Lyndon Johnson took over, different then kennedy, humble beginning, earthy, prone to cursing, used size to advantage b. believed fed. gov. should work actively to improve lives of americans c. more concerned about quality of goals, then quantity of goods d. this vision was called the “Great Society”

9. Civil Rights Act - July 1964 – Civil Rights Act – Ended legal discrimination of race - Federal programs, voting, employment, public accommodations - Gave government power to hold funds from public agencies - Ended legal discrimination of sex in employment - Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) took little notice - 1996 – National Organization of Women (NOW) formed against EEOC - Conservatives unhappy with federal power – promoted state’s rights - Arizona state senator Barry Goldwater – Republican conservative voice

10. Election of 1964 - Goldwater favored liberty over equality + stronger national military - “In your heart, you know he’s right,” to “In your heart, you know he might.” - Johnson campaigned w/ unemployment rate 4% + economic growth rate 6% - New Deal followers/supporters broken apart by Civil Rights Act - South = strong republicans after CRA - 1964 – Democratic National Convention – two delegations from MI - MI Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) – racially mixed group - Racist southern whites threatened to walk out if MFDP seated - MFDP walked out – Johnson lost MFDP and Deep South - Johnson won election - Majority (61.1%) voted for Great Society - March 6, 1964 – SCLC planned march in AL to provoke federal action - State troopers used electric cattle prods, chains, + tear gas - Marchers crossing Edmund Pettus bridge to Montgomery - March 15, 1964 – Johnson proposed Voting Rights Act - Outlawed practices that prevented blacks from voting - 1964-1966 – MI black voting from 7% to 60%

11. Improving American Life - Johnson implemented student loan + grant programs for low/moderate-incomes - Created National Endowment for the Arts/Humanities - 1965 – Immigration Act of 1965 – removed racist immigration quotas - 1996 – NationalTraffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act - Environmentalists allied w/ Johnson - Johnson made laws protecting wilderness + addressing pollution

12. War on Poverty - 1964 – Johnson started passing of 20+ acts to resolve poverty - Offered opportunities to all – Head Start, Upward Bound, + Job Corps - Model Cities program put federal funds toward less fortunate communities - Funds toward employment, housing, education, + health - Established Medicare for those 65+ and Medicaid for the poor - 1965-1975 – WoP benefits noticeable - 600,000 to 17million eligible for food stamps - 40% to 16% elderly affected by poverty – Social Security/Medicare - 1959-1973 – 22.4% to 11% poverty - 1963-1973 – Female-headed household poverty – 11million – no change - 1960-1973 – Hospitals raised healthcare prices dramatically – 44% raise

13. Johnson and Vietnam - Johnson firmly against communism - Maintained as little international contact as possible - Not accustomed to foreigners 1) Kennedy's Legacy in Vietnam - Kennedy increased aid dollars to Diem regime in Saigon - Increased airdrops of raiding teams into N. Vietnam - Destroyed crops with herbicides to expose Vietcongs - 1963 – 16,000+ military advisors in S. Vietnam - Fought with Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) - Opposition to Diem’s regime increased - November 1, 1963 – Kennedy sent US generals to murder Diem

14. Tonkin Gulf Incident and Resolution A.) Resulting from Johnson wanted the president: 1. Throughout 1964 election, there were plans to expand war to North Vietnam. 2. Never seriously considered negotiating a settlement. B.) Incident in the Gulf of Tonkin: 1. Off the coast of North Vietnam. 2. 2 out of 3 days U.S. destroyers repeatedly attacked by N. Vietnamese patrol boats. 3. Johnson ordered retaliatory air strikes against selected N. Vietnam patrol boat bases and an oil depot. 4. Vote of 416 to 0 in the House and 88 to 2 in the Senate, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. (Essentially Congress was giving powers to executive branch to President.)

15. Decision for Escalation A.) Political Opinions: 1. President Johnson loved broad authority. 2. After Tonkin affair his public ratings went up dramatically. 3. Showed his force against Vietnam and he was strong. B.) The War: 1. Vietcong continued to make gains. 2. U.S. officials created secret plans increasing American involvement. 3. February 1965, Johnson ordered Operation Rolling Thunder; a bombing program planned the previous fall continuing until October 1968. 4. March 8, the first U.S. combat battle near the shore of Danang. 5. N. Vietnamese were very dogged in wining. C.) Statistics: 1. By the end of 1965, more than 180,000 U.S. ground troops were in South Vietnam. 2. In 1966, number increased to 385,000. 3. In 1967, U.S. warplanes flew 108,000 sorties and dropped 226,000 tons of bombs on North Vietnam.

16. American Soldiers in Vietnam A.) War Decisions: 1. Johnson Americanized the Vietnam War. 2. Sought to keep the publicity surrounding the action as low as possible. 3. Rejects Joint Chiefs’ view that U.S. reserve forces should be mobilized and a national emergency declared. 4. Forced military to rely on the draft meaning, “young man’s war.” 5. Average age of soldiers was 22. 6. War of poor and working class. B.) American Soldiers: 1. Infantrymen on maneuvers carried heavy rucksacks into think jungle. 2. Booby traps and land mines were a constant threat. 3. Insects and leeches were on rotted skin from the rains and suns.

17. Divisions At Home A.) Pro vs. Anti-War: 1. Americans divided for those who supported the war to those who didn’t. 2. Television captured the intensity of war. 3. Media lowered the support for the war. 4. Pacifist groups: American Friends Service Committee Women’s International League for Peace Were against the war and formed early protests. 5. Johnson was pro war and very determined to be victorious in Vietnam.

18. Black Power A.) Black Muslims: 1. Malcolm X, pimp and street hustler became leader. 2. Converted to Nation of Islam while in prison. 3. Offered African Americans a new direction of leadership. 4. This strengthened black pride and separatism from the white race. 5. The Religion emphasized the importance of sobriety, thrift, and social responsibility.

19. Youth and Politics • By mid 1960’s 41% of American population was under 20 • ¾ of youth graduated from high school and almost half went to college • Young Americans for freedom was an organization started by young conservative college students. • They endorsed cold war anticommunism and a vision of limited government power directly opposed to new deal liberalism and its heritage. • They planned to capture the Republican party and move it to the political right. • The “New Left” soon joined conservative youth in rejecting liberalism. • Conservatives believed that liberalism's activists government encroached on individual liberties, whereas these young Americans believed that liberalism could never offer true democracy and equality to the American people.

20. Free Speech Movement and Student Activism • The university of California, Berkeley banned political activity, including recruiting volunteers for civil rights work in Mississippi. The police were called about a CORE worker who defied the order and about 4000 students surrounded the police car. • Student political groups came together to create the Free Speech Movement, which helped to win back the right to political speech, but not before 800 protesters were arrested • Many student protestors sought more control over their lives as students. • They wanted more relevant class offerings, more freedom in selecting their courses of study, and a greater voice in the running of universities.

21. Youth and the War • The war in Vietnam mobilized a nationwide student movement. • They felt it was their duty as citizens to learn about and speak out on important issues. • Students and faculty held “teach-ins” about the U.S. involvement in Vietnam as the war escalated in 1965. • Students from the democratic party sponsored the first major anti war march that year, where 20,000 protesters marched to Washington D.C. • Local SDS chapters grew steadily as opposition to the war increased. • Despite the visibility of antiwar protests, not that many college students were against the war in 1967, only 30 % of males declared themselves “ doves” while 67% declared themselves “hawks” • As the war continued however an increasing number of the American Youth began to distrust the government.

22. Youth Culture and Counterculture • The baby-boom generation would change the nation's culture more than its politics. • There were many different cultural styles between Black, White and the Latino youth. • They had different music, different cloths, and different versions of youth dialect, sometimes incomprehensible to adults. • The unifying element was music • Some huge musicians of the time were The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead. • Some musicians of this time were on hallucinogenic drugs and redefined realty for the youth. • Woodstock was a festival in upstate New York where more than 400,000 people reveled in the music and a world of their own making.

23. Counterculture • Some young people at this time rebelled against the consumer lifestyle and celebrated the legitimacy of pleasure. “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll” became the mantra for these “hippies.” This was their Counterculture. • The counterculture was first brought to the public in the summer of 1967 in San Francisco, during the “Summer of Love” • The youth stopped wearing ties, bras, and tights, and many boys grew their hair long. Parents throughout the nations complained that they couldn't tell the boys from the girls. • Millions of them used marijuana and hallucinogenic drugs, read underground newspapers, and thought of themselves as alienated form the “straight” society, even though many of them still went to high school or college. • The most lasting cultural change was about sex. The mass media was fascinated by “free love” • birth control was being distributed and 900% more unmarried couples lived together.

24. The Tet Offensive and Johnson's Exit • 1968 opened with a major attack in Vietnam. It took place on the Vietnamese New Year, and they captured provincial capitals. • The Saigon Airport, the presidential palace, and the ARVN headquarters also came under attack. • The U.S. and South Vietnamese eventually regained much of the ground they had lost, inflicting heavy casualties and damaging many villages. • Controversy over the war had split the Democratic Party right before the November elections in 1968. • Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy were both strong opponents to Johnson’s war policies, and forcefully challenged the president in early primaries. • Johnson, exhausted with the war, changed his strategies. He stopped the bombing and asked Hanoi to begin negotiations. • Peace talks began in May in Paris, but the war continued.

25. Chicago Democratic National Convention and Nixon's Election • Thousands of protesters converged on the city streets. Students had cut their hair and wore respectable clothing to go “clean for gene”, gene being Eugene McCarthy. • Mayor Daley stated that no one would interrupt his convention, and assigned 12,000 police on 12 hour shifts, and 12,000 army troops with bazookas, rifles, and flamethrowers. Many innocent protestors were beat and the Nation was once again horrified. • After a long year of protest the election of 1968 did little to heal the nation. • Nixon called for "Law and Order" which was a phrase understood as racial code words. It was to appeal to those upset about racial violence and social unrest. • Nixon vowed to "end the war and win the peace" • Nixon was elected on slim margins and the divisions among americans deepened